SFI Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Metallic Systems wins Education Laboratory of the Year
May 4, 2021
The SFI Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Metallic Systems (AMSCDT), Ireland’s specialist post-Doctoral training centre for metal Additive Manufacturing, has won the Education Laboratory of the Year Award in the 2021 Irish Laboratory Awards. The AMSCDT is a collaboration between the University of Sheffield, University of Manchester, University College Dublin (UCD) and Dublin City University (DCU), where the Irish component is led by Prof Dermot Brabazon.
The centre has Powder Metallurgy and laser processing facilities where it promotes research and industry engagement as PhD projects address industrial challenges relevant to Ireland. Researchers are able to gain the skills and experience needed to become leaders in AM. The manufacturing sector is the second largest employer in Ireland and the centre plays a key role in both growing the country’s knowledge base and responding to industry’s skills needs.
Sponsoring companies are also able to utilise the centre in solving manufacturing challenges, while gaining access to the next generation of trained graduates. In providing this training, the knowledge and facilities at DCU fit well with those at the universities of Sheffield, Manchester and UCD.
“The UK and Ireland has a critical shortage of doctoral level metallic materials specialists, which impacts on our competitive manufacturing capabilities,” stated Brabazon. “In the centre, we deliver four-year doctoral projects with technical and leadership training for STEM graduates. The projects are designed specifically for and with industry, to support high-value manufacturing across the whole supply chain, from fundamental research through to industrial delivery.”
The centre has a particularly strong focus on the development of skilled talent appropriate to the major needs of the 21st century economy. It was established by the state agency Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) – which funds it in Ireland – and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the UK’s main organisation for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences.
